Dr. Hooves, also known as Dr. Whooves or Time Turner, is a background male Earthpony with an hourglass cutie mark. The character, unnamed in the show, was given the name "Doctor Whooves" by fans (as a reference to the British sci-fi drama Doctor Who, created by the BBC), which was adopted by the show's crew,[6] and only later was the character explicitly given the name "Time Turner", chosen by Enterplay consultant Wendy Epstein,[7] in Enterplay's 2012 set of trading cards and with the alternate punctuation "Time-Turner" on a 2012 IDW comic book cover; Gameloft's 2012 mobile game initially also gave him the name "Time Turner", but a 2013 update changed his in-game name to "Dr. Hooves", a name that has also been given to him in Mighty Fine's merchandise[8] following the 2012 rejection of the original name "Doctor Whooves";[9] Funko has used "Dr. Whooves" for earlier merchandise and "Dr. Hooves" for later merchandise; Hasbro's toy sets also use "Dr. Hooves"; the episode Slice of Life simply calls the character "Doctor" and "Doc" respectively in the credits and in dialogue. Hasbro acknowledged the character's popularity in the Comic Con 2011 promotional poster, where he is explicitly posed in a way that his cutie mark is clearly visible.[10] Dr. Hooves shares his design with Meadow Song and Lucky Clover.

Contents

Depiction in the series

Season one

Dr. Hooves being surprised by Apple Bloom.

Dr. Hooves appears in the background of multiple episodes. His only speaking role as an Earth pony is when he rejects Apple Bloom's offer of buying apples in Call of the Cutie and gets pressured into buying one in return for getting her to leave him alone. He was placed in the scene by storyboard artist Sabrina Alberghetti for his colors and design.[11]

Season two

In The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, he makes another somewhat prominent appearance where he is in charge of spinning the hourglass that starts the competition between the Flim Flam Brothers and the Apple family. During this scene he wears a green necktie. He was intentionally placed into the scene by the storyboarding supervisor for the episode.[12]

Another Pegasus pony sharing his character model, color scheme, and cutie mark is featured in Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash switches numbers with him when she tries to delay her performance in the Best Young Flyer competition. The character is voiced by Tabitha St. Germain as a Pegasus.

1:45 in the group of ponies, 2:49 and also 3:31, 4:40 and 4:49, 12:55 and appears most through the scene, 15:10 pushing a plow closest to the screen, two Dr. Hooveses at 19:31 and appears twice again in the next scene then again in 20:24.

13:39 through the rest of Pinkie Pie's song in the background, 15:51, 15:55 with the same mane and tail style as Goldengrape, 17:06, 17:59, 18:03 in the doorway, 18:18, 18:57 for a second, 20:04, 20:30, 20:34.

14:29 - cornered by changelings; 15:26 - chased by a changeling; 17:47 - at the second wedding; 20:34 - in a photo of Rainbow Dash and Soarin; 20:35 - in a photo of Rarity and Fancy Pants; 20:36 - watching Princess Cadance and Shining Armor leave

8:13 - in the movie theater during Babs Seed (song); 15:11, 16:38 - riding a cucumber float, dressed as a pear; 16:03, 16:40 - in the parade-watching crowd (with several duplicates); 16:41 - jumps out of the way of Pinkie Pie's float

Depiction in comics

Midtown Comics Cover.

Time-Turner[sic] appears in comic book issue #1 on page 3.[13] He is featured on the issue's Detroit comic book stores exclusive Cover RE. On the issue's Lone Star Comics exclusive variant Cover RE, he is featured on the cover of a magazine titled Hoof Beat, showing him with a caption beginning "Time-Turner answers YOUR questio..." and a speech balloon containing the word "spoilers". On the Hot Topic variant of the issue, it features Derpy Hooves and Time-Turner[sic] in a Doctor Who themed cover, featuring the Doctor's TARDIS, and the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver.[14] He is also featured on issue #2's Midtown Comics exclusive Cover RE where the reference to Doctor Who is made more explicit with him wearing a long orange and brown scarf which the fourth incarnation of the Doctor (played by Tom Baker) was famous for wearing. The cover also includes a nod to the Doctor's TARDIS in the shape and color of the street lamp, as well as a pony version of memorable Doctor Who villain, a Weeping Angel.[15]

He later appears in issue #8 during the battle with Nightmare Rarity's shadow creatures where he is seen trying to get his sonic screwdriver to work whilst a shadow creature looks at him confused.

Also in issues #7 and #8, similar ponies can also be seen standing near him; in issue #7, a pony resembling eleventh Doctor Matt Smith can be seen wearing a fez and bow tie, and in issue #8, there is a pony wearing a scarf with a mane style reminiscent of Tom Baker.

In issue #9, Time-Turner[sic] is seen in the background showing a Fob Watch to Derpy, claiming the watch to be him (Based on the premise of Doctor Who Television Story; 'Human Nature'). Derpy however, questions whether she knows him.

Depiction in merchandise

Dr. Hooves was first given the trademarked name Time Turner on the My Little Pony trading cards unveiled in BronyCon 2012. He appears on a card together with Mayor Mare, and his description bills him as her official town timekeeper, "the pony responsible for keeping Ponyville's clocks in sync, setting the hourglass for cider competitions, and pretty much all things timey-wimey." The cards were designed specifically with the brony demographic of older fans in mind, and the writer-consultant for the set has said the consultants submitted "at least a dozen direct fandom nods".[19]

Following the trading cards' July 2012 retail store release, the character has appeared as Time Turner on an August 2012 Mighty Fine T-shirt. Despite this, he still appears on multiple other Mighty Fine products as "Dr. Hooves" and as "Doctor Whooves". In August 2012, "Doctor Whooves" t-shirts and a "seat belt belt" became available for sale at Hot Topic.

In the collectible card game, α #197 UR, a card of Dr. Hooves, states "An owl delivered an ancient scroll to Dr. Hooves one fateful morning. The only legible text left on the parchment was XHRPPAXLFSVZB."[20] In the game's expansion set Canterlot Nights, #12 R, another card of Dr. Hooves, attributes to him and Roseluck the respective quotes "I made it!" and "You're twelve years too late!"[21] In the game's expansion set The Crystal Games, #10 R and #ƒ6, more cards of Dr. Hooves, give him the description "Dr. Hooves just keeps picking up new skills. Nopony knows how he finds the time to learn so much", and #Pƒ4, yet another card of Dr. Hooves, gives him the description "There's an outrageous amount of running involved in being Dr. Hooves. Sometimes he can't help but be a LITTLE splashy."

Other depictions

Dr. Hooves, under the name Time Turner, is one of the My Little Pony companions added to Gaia Online in early July 2013. A description of him on the website reads "An earth pony that takes care of all things timey-wimey."[22]

On November 23, 2013, the Hub Network both posted on Facebook and tweeted a picture of Dr. Hooves and Apple Bloom with the comment "Here's to epic days for fandoms everywhere!"[23] and, on Twitter, with the hashtags #DoctorWho50th, #MLPSeason4, and #BestDayEver.[24] This hints towards the Day of the Doctor being on the same day as the season four premiere.

My Little Pony mobile game description

Time Turner was his initial name in the mobile game, but as of version 1.2.2 his name has been changed to Dr. Hooves.[25] Prior to the first version's release, Dr[sic] Whooves was his name in a presentation of the game at My Little Pony Project 2012 New York.[26]

Dr. Hooves keeps Ponyville's clocks in sync, sets the hourglass for cider competitions, and takes care of all things timey-wimey.